Cajun Chicken Pasta... Almost

I have been recipe hunting on the food blogs I follow. I've been wanting something different, yet agreeable with everyone. My parents have to be willing to eat it. So I was perusing one of my faves and came across the Cajun Chicken Pasta recipe. My mouth immediately started to water. I figured it was a sign. I thought to myself that I just have to make that. The pictures were enough to convince me. It looked soooo good! And I like pretty much anything as long as it has pasta in it.
On a mission, I went to the grocery after work last night. Got home, realized I forgot 2 key ingredients. Back I went this morning! I had a major hankering for this stuff. Would not be happy until I made it. So I made it. And wouldn't you know, I was in such a hurry to eat it I left out 2 ingredients! I'm sure the lack of did not really detract, too much, from the overall experience. But, next time I will not be forgetting. There will be a next time. Everything is better with garlic isn't it? Well, maybe not ice cream.

Cajun Chicken Pasta:
(As made by me, following the recipe from The Pioneer Woman, "Cajun Chicken Pasta")

Here's what you'll need:
3 whole boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into cubes
3 tsp Cajun spice mix, more to taste
1 pound fettuccine
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1/2 large red onion, sliced
2 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh chopped parsley

Chop the tops and bottoms off your peppers. See all those seeds? Get them outta there! 

Then begin slicing! Not to big though. I slice my the same width as the pasta. The peppers like this, because secretly vegetables want to be like pasta.

That goes for onions too! So give it a nice slice.

As for the chicken, I can not say. I can't read chicken minds. But a small dice is fine. Bite size will do. 

Season the chicken with half the Cajun seasoning. Toss it around and make sure that every piece gets some lovin'.
Probably shouldn't have used an orange bowl for this... Orange isn't a photogenic color.

In a large skillet over high heat, add half of the oil and half of the butter. Glorious smells will follow. 

Once the pan is nice and hot, add half the chicken. Do not touch it! Let it get all nice and toasty for about a minute.

After that minute, flip it. Let it get all nice and toasty on the other side. Another minute should do. Then take it out and put it on a plate. Repeat with the rest of the chicken. Put that on the plate as well. 

Replenish the skillet with the rest of the butter and oil and let that get hot.

In salted, boiling water start the pasta. Cook until it's al dente. Which, should be by the time your finished making the sauce. 

Add the veggies to the skillet! Get them nice and toasty too! Only takes a minute.

 I forgot the onions...

I was thinking about how I couldn't wait much longer before I was overcome with the need to sneak a piece of chicken... I somehow managed to not give in. 

So I cooked the onions separately, with a little more butter :) 

Add to the plate! 

While the pan is still hot add the chicken broth. Scrap the bottom to get all the yummy bits up! They are very important. This is called deglazing. It is critical so don't forget. 

Let this cook on high for a few minutes, until it reduces by about half. 

Then get your cream ready. This is one of my favorite parts! Turn the heat down to low. 

Pour it in!!! Stir or whisk to combine. It will slowly thicken. Turn the heat to medium and cook for a few minutes. 

Add the rest of the Cajun seasoning. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir, stir, stir! 

Once it has thickened into saucy deliciousness...

After the sauce thickens. Add everything to the pot!
Be sure to include all the juices that may have settled on the plate. 

It would be a sin to waste that. 

Stir the chicken and the veggies into the sauce and let it cook for a few (2-3) minutes. 

Add more pepper. That's a rule.

Drain the pasta and add it. Also let this cook just a few (2-3) minutes. 

The pasta will help thicken the sauce even more. Then it will start to absorb it. 

All that magical Cajun flavor will inside every bite of pasta! 

Give some fresh parsley a rough chop. 

Sprinkle it on! It's like sprinkling on green happiness :) 

Now, all that self control I had over the chicken... I lost it. 

I had to try it!

 I have no self control over pasta. Absolutely none. Nada. Zilch. 

I eat it while it's still cooking in the water! 

So I decided that everything had cooked long enough. I was hungry! 

So I made a plate.

Then I added some freshly grated Parmesan cheese. 

The good stuff. Don't skimp.

Everything's better with cheese anyway. 

Then I ate it. 

Then my mom came home and ate it straight out of the pan. 

Nuff said. 

For the full recipe, which includes the ingredients I both forgot and omitted, please visit The Pioneer Woman. The link will take you directly to her Cajun Chicken Pasta recipe. Feel free to look around tho, she has a great site with lots of great recipes. I have a recipe wait list of things I want to make. 

Milky Way Cake

I get cavities just thinking about it. Just looking at the cake will make you gain 10 pounds. I think I gained 20 from making it. But my was it good. Rich, chocolaty, oh my! I've been anticipating the making of this cake all week. I must say, it was worth it.

Here's what you'll need:
8 full size milky way candy bars
2 sticks of butter
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 cup pecans, chopped

Melt the candy bars and 1 stick of butter in a saucepan over low heat.

Sift the flour and baking soda together in a bowl and set aside.

Cream the other stick of butter with the sugar.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one.

Add the flour and the buttermilk, alternately. Begin and end with the flour.

Beat in the candy bar mixture and stir in the pecans.

Pour into 3 nine inch cake pans that have been buttered and floured. 

I can not stress how important it is to butter and flour your pans for this cake. 

As you can tell from the Grand Canyon running through my cake, I did not flour the pans. 

But I'm still allowed to make mistakes as I consider myself to be a novice baker. It was nothing a little bit of frosting couldn't fix.

Chocolate Frosting:

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/ cup evaporated milk

1 stick butter

2 cups chocolate chips

1 cup marshmallow cream

Combine the sugar and the milk over low heat. Stirring constantly, cook until it reaches a soft ball stage, or 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. 

Stir in the marshmallow cream, butter, and chocolate chips.

When the chocolate chips are melted take it off the heat.

Pour it into a mixing bowl and beat until cool.

Make sure to put plenty of frosting in between each layer of cake. There is more than enough.

Make sure to get a big glass of milk.

You're going to need it :)

Coconut Cream Pie, as if the cake wasn't enough...

I have been on a baking spree! I can't get enough now that all my homemade goodies are actually eatable. Crazy right? I know! They're not catastrophes. I'm so excited!
My grandfather requested a coconut cream pie, sugar free. I was like, "how?" But it was easy and so was the recipe I found. Super simple to make. If I can get it right surely everyone else can. It's not rocket science, just don't scramble the egg yolks. And if you want to make your pie sugar free just use any sugar substitute in place of the sugar!
I hand delivered the pie to my grandparents and they immediately cut into it. My grandfather looked like a kid on Christmas with his slice :)

Here's what you'll need:
(Adapted from Emeril Lagasse's "Coconut Cream Pie")

• 1 blind-baked 9-inch pastry shell 
• 1/4 cups 2% milk
• 2 cups coconut milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon coconut rum
• 1 3/4 cups coconut, plus 2 tablespoons toasted 
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

In a saucepan, whisk the 2 cups of the coconut milk and 3/4 cup sugar together. Place the pan over medium heat and bring the liquid up to a simmer. Whisk the egg yolks together. Temper the hot milk into the egg yolks. Whisk the egg mixture into the hot milk mixture. In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining milk, making a slurry. Whisk the slurry into the hot milk mixture. Bring the liquid up to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, until the filling is thick, about 4 to 6 minutes. Fold in the vanilla, coconut, rum and butter. Mix well. Pour the filling into the prepared crust and cool the pie completely. 

Now, I do not like meringue. So I topped my pie with whipped cream. You can certainly choose whichever you like. To make the whipped cream you will need:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix together in a bowl with an electric mixer until the cream has thickened and stiff peaks form. 

Spread evenly over the pie and top with the toasted coconut!

Another Coconut Cake!

In my quest to be a better "from scratch" baker I've been looking up new recipes to try. The only requirements I have for new recipes: short and sweet. Both literally and figuratively. White cake recipes are hard to find, easy ones anyway. They're all so complicated. I don't have time for complicated. This one was a piece of cake, pun intended! It will definitely be going into my recipe book. My coconut cake turned out better than expected. And, for the first time ever, I was happy with it when it came out of the oven.

Classic Coconut Cake w/ Vanilla Butter Cream (recipe follows)
Here's what you'll need:
(Adapted from, "Nick Malgieri, Classic White Cake")

Ingredients

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pans
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 large egg whites (3/4 cup)
• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon coconut rum
• 2 (9-inch) diameter by 1 1/2-inch deep layer pans or 1 (13 by 9 by 2-inch) pan, buttered and floured

Directions

Set a rack at the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Combine egg whites, milk and vanilla extract. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to butter mixture then add half the milk mixture. Continue to alternate beginning and ending with flour mixture. Scrape bowl and beater often. Pour batter into prepared pan(s) and smooth top with a metal spatula. Bake cake(s) about 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center emerges clean. Cool in pan on a rack for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and let cool completely.

Vanilla Butter Cream Frosting:

1 stick of softened butter

4 cups confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup of milk, as needed

2 cups of sweetened, flaked coconut

Cream the butter and the vanilla together until smooth and fluffy. Add the sugar one cup at a time, mix in the milk as needed to create a smooth, spreadable consistency.

Use about 1/4 of the frosting on the bottom layer of cake. Once frosted, cover it in coconut and put the top layer on. Ice the top and sides of the cake using the remaining frosting. Carefully using your hands, coat the sides with coconut, then sprinkle the remainder on the top of the cake. 

Southern Peach Pound Cake

This is the perfect cake for summer.

Here's what you'll need:

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

2 cups white sugar

4 eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 cups all purpose flour,

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 cups fresh peaches, pitted and chopped

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla. Reserve 1/4 cup of flour for later, and sift together the remaining flour, salt, and baking powder. Gradually stir into the creamed mixture. Use the reserved flour to coat the chopped peaches, then fold the floured peaches into the batter. Spread evenly into a 10-inch tube pan that has been buttered and coated with white sugar. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes in a 325-degree oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cook in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting it onto a wire rack to cool completely.